Moscow faced cumulative isolation on Tuesday as Russian President, Vladimir Putin showed no sign of ending an invasion of Ukraine, where fierce fighting and Russian bombardment have killed many and sparked a refugee crisis.
Russia’s invasion carried out last week appears not to have achieved the decisive early gains that President Putin would have hoped for.
The Russian leader faces rising diplomatic isolation for launching the biggest assault on a European State since World War II and the systemic impact of Western sanctions led to a near 30 percent collapse in the rouble yesterday before central bank intervention rescued the currency from its lows.
Ceasefire talks held Monday were unsuccessful in reaching a breakthrough and negotiators haven’t said when a new round would take place.
The United States (US) and its allies have enforced sanctions on Russia’s central bank, oligarchs and officials, its top businesses, including Putin, and barred some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system.
NATO ally, Turkey conveyed another blow to Moscow on Monday by warning warring countries not to send warships through its Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits that separate the Black Sea from the Mediterranean, effectively bottling up Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
Washington has ruled out sending troops to fight Russia or enforcing a no-fly zone as requested by Ukraine, fearing an escalation between the world’s top two nuclear powers.
But, the United States and its allies have instead assured military aid to Kyiv, as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned the capital was under constant threat.
“For the enemy, Kyiv is the key target,” Zelenskyy said in a video message on Monday night.
“We didn’t let them break the defence of the capital, and they sent saboteurs to us … We will neutralise them all,” he added.
Zelenskyy said Russia, which calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation,” was targeting a thermal power plant giving electricity to Kyiv, a city of three million people.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States and Human rights groups accused Russia of using cluster bombs and vacuum bombs.
Staging a push for the capital, Russia has massed a convoy of armoured vehicles, tanks and other military equipment that stretches about 40 miles (64 km), US satellite company Maxar said.
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